Magic/Cursed Items That Cause Transformation by Use or Ownership

[wingnut2292]

Hi, Folks! The title pretty much says it all. I'm writing a story where some human teens find themselves in a D&D-ish world. (They may end up in the overworld, they may start off in the Underdark. Depends on my mood as a writer.) Having a bunch of stock humans can be boring, though, so I'm looking for some ways to a few of them change their race. Reincarnate is good for a suprise there. But I need a bit more.

I remember in 2e there was a Boots of Elvenkind? or Was it a Cape? or a Bow? *shakes head* In any case, I remember that long term use of it turned you into an Elf. I remember a Helm or Hammer that did the same for Dwarves. I think there was some kind of potion or seed that turned women into driads (and if regulary drunk by men, turned men into women)?

If you have any magic items that transform people and isn't named the Hand/Sword/Eye of Vecna, please share!

[DedWards]

How close to the rules of items, etc. do you want to go? Or to ask it another way, how much are you willing to gloss over to get the effect you want?

[Cerefel]

One way for a character to change race is to become a Dragonborn of Bahamut, although not via item.

[Jack_Simth]

Hi, Folks! The title pretty much says it all. I'm writing a story where some human teens find themselves in a D&D-ish world. (They may end up in the overworld, they may start off in the Underdark. Depends on my mood as a writer.) Having a bunch of stock humans can be boring, though, so I'm looking for some ways to a few of them change their race. Reincarnate is good for a suprise there. But I need a bit more.

I remember in 2e there was a Boots of Elvenkind? or Was it a Cape? or a Bow? *shakes head* In any case, I remember that long term use of it turned you into an Elf. I remember a Helm or Hammer that did the same for Dwarves. I think there was some kind of potion or seed that turned women into driads (and if regulary drunk by men, turned men into women)?

If you have any magic items that transform people and isn't named the Hand/Sword/Eye of Vecna, please share!

It's two of the options on the Drawback Table in the Cursed Items section (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#drawback). 33-34 and 96. As a result, you can put it on ANY magic item you feel like and be well within the realm of RAW. As to the associated mechanics:

Items with drawbacks are usually still beneficial to the possessor but they also carry some negative aspect. Although sometimes drawbacks occur only when the item is used (or held, in the case of some items such as weapons), usually the drawback remains with the character for as long as she has the item.

Roll on the table below to generate a drawback that (unless otherwise indicated) remains in effect as long as the item is in the character’s possession.

So many people forget about cursed items....

[Fizban]

I wouldn't say so much forget as ignore. When most of the system has nice well-defined mechanics and then there are these glaring random tables left laying around for people that want everything to be rolled on random tables, well there you go. Cursed items are as much fiat as anything else without a price tag, and you don't need a random table for permission to fiat.

[Starbuck_II]

Hi, Folks! The title pretty much says it all. I'm writing a story where some human teens find themselves in a D&D-ish world. (They may end up in the overworld, they may start off in the Underdark. Depends on my mood as a writer.) Having a bunch of stock humans can be boring, though, so I'm looking for some ways to a few of them change their race. Reincarnate is good for a suprise there. But I need a bit more.

I remember in 2e there was a Boots of Elvenkind? or Was it a Cape? or a Bow? *shakes head* In any case, I remember that long term use of it turned you into an Elf. I remember a Helm or Hammer that did the same for Dwarves. I think there was some kind of potion or seed that turned women into driads (and if regulary drunk by men, turned men into women)?

If you have any magic items that transform people and isn't named the Hand/Sword/Eye of Vecna, please share!

Fang Scarab: A nonspider can make a fang scarab function with a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 25), but doing so also fuses it permanently to its user's neck, near the Adam's apple. Nothing short of the wearer's death can then remove it.
Grants a +1 insight to attack. Also allows Fang of Lolth Prc access.

[Jack_Simth]

I wouldn't say so much forget as ignore. When most of the system has nice well-defined mechanics and then there are these glaring random tables left laying around for people that want everything to be rolled on random tables, well there you go. Cursed items are as much fiat as anything else without a price tag, and you don't need a random table for permission to fiat.

The standard rules assume random treasure generation. And if you look through those, there is a nifty little note in the Magic Items Section (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicItemBasics.htm#cursedItems):
Some items are cursed—incorrectly made, or corrupted by outside forces. Cursed items might be particularly dangerous to the user, or they might be normal items with a minor flaw, an inconvenient requirement, or an unpredictable nature. Randomly generated items are cursed 5% of the time. (Emphasis added)

When you're specifically after a particular thing for storytelling purposes, the little issue that the game expects 5% of the things you run across to have issues is handy. Mind you - 5% are cursed; of those, 15% have a drawback; of those, 3% have the specific thing the OP was after - so that's 0.0225% of items that meet the criteria with standard D&D 3.5 rules. But it is fine for a story that what the OP wants can be tacked on to anything without actually using rule 0.

With Pathfinder, cursed items come from a failed spellcraft check when crafting - so they'll happen more often (and they're pretty much the exact same tables).

In D&D, I was always fond of thinking of curses as security features (a magical item that turns the user female is perfectly harmless when you're giving it as a gift for your daughter to use when the castle gets invaded or for when you'd like her to observe how people interact at court when they don't think she's watching. And... if she slips that ring of invisibility you gave her so she could hide if the castle gets invade onto her boyfriend you don't like and don't want in the castle... well, not your fault, now is it? Likewise, dependent conditions - like only functions for worshipers of a particular deity - might be made for similar reasons) or traps for people's enemies (Delusion, Opposite Effect or Target, and most of the specific cursed items are quite useful as traps for your enemies... which also explains why cursed items are harder to identify). They may have outlived their purpose and nobody remembers why someone created that Periapt of Wisdom that puts an identifying glow on the user (it was actually for use in a library, and they didn't want people walking out with it...), but the item is still around.